Tidmouth
'''Tidmouth '''is a town located in the valley of Tid on the Island of Sodor. It has a population of 33,000 and is one of Sodor's larger towns. The North Western Railway has a small station here which serves the local town and acts as a secondary terminus for the railway. The passenger station has two platforms, and is sheltered by two glass roofs. It has two car parks on either side. The fat controller has a second office here, along with two waiting rooms, a refreshment room, and ticket office. The economy comes from farming, fowling, and heavy machinery. History The first station was built on the east side of the town in 1885. It served the then small village and was run by the coffeepots on the Knapford, Tidmouth and Elsbridge Light Railway. When the line running from Knapford to Tidmouth was destroyed in 1908 after the flooding of the Callandale Lake, and the new line running between Knapford and Tidmouth through the then new tunnel was built, the station was demolished and rebuilt along the new line. In 1920, the line running along the Callandale Lake was rebuilt higher than the previous line. It ran into the new station yard where a small coaling depot was set up. In 1923, when Thomas was given his branch line, a single road shed and a small turntable were built in the yard. The late 1940s saw a drastic increase in traffic at Knapford. To combat this, the fat controller expanded to yard at Tidmouth to include more goods and carriage sidings. A few years later, when the harbour at Elsbridge was built, the yards were expanded further so Thomas' shed was three roads instead of one, and Toby and Percy could be reallocated to Tidmouth. In 1975, the sheds were moved to Ffarquhar and a larger turntable was put in. The coaling depot received an upgrade as well. Then, two years later, Callandale was turning into a bigger and bigger tourist attraction. The fat controller put forward plans to connect the Callandale branch line to the main line, so that trains running from Knapford along the Callandale line could still stop at Tidmouth. A goods halt was also built on the outskirts of Tidmouth Yard heading towards Callandale, along with a washdown at the junction. By 1980, the line was completed. Operations The station at Tidmouth serves the local village and acts as a secondary terminus for the North Western Railway. While the big operations take place at Knapford, it can often grow overcrowded. When arranging special events at Knapford, the fat controller often schedules other trains to terminate at Tidmouth so as to avoid the crowds. He then works with the Sodor Bus Company to bring anyone travelling to Knapford there. Tidmouth also acts as the final station for the Arlesburgh branch line. Passenger services from Arlesburgh terminate here, as do many of the goods trains. The station and yard also act as the second station on Thomas' branch line. Thomas and Toby stop here on passenger runs and the yard is used as an exchange between the branch line and main line, particularly for coal or stone trains. Gallery ThomasComestoBreakfast13.jpg GhostTrain36.jpg GhostTrain17.jpg TidmouthYard.png|Tidmouth Yard TidmouthStationBack.png|The back of the station TidmouthGoodsHalt.png|Tidmouth Goods Halt TidmouthChurch.png|Tidmouth Church TidmouthMachineryFactory.png|A machinery factory in Tidmouth TidmouthCoalDepot.png|Tidmouth Coal Depot CallandaleRiver.png|The River Callandale, running along the outskirts of Tidmouth TidmouthWashdown.png|Tidmouth Washdown TidmouthGoodsJunction.png|Tidmouth Goods Junction NorthTidmouthBridge.png Category:North Western Railway Category:The Main Line Category:Ffarquhar Branch Line